AP passholder or UPH

[tomerin]

this july we (4 of us) are again returning to WDW for our annual 10 day vacation. we are now DVC members at SS and are currently looking at ticket prices. i know the general concensus is if you are staying over 8 days an AP is the way to go but i just need to hear from a few or a lot of others who have the AP's and if they are worth it.

1600 dollars is a lot of money to lay out without some reassurance that it is money well spent

are the discounts available with an AP worth the extra price over UPH?

i have done some research and i am leaning to getting the AP.

thanks
tom

 

[Chuck S]

We are also DVC members, and go twice a year...usually for 9 or 10 days each trip. We have APs, and have had for several years. Here's what I would do if I took one 10 day vacation per year...

Is it possible to schedule your next years vacation so that it falls prior to the expiration of your AP? If so, you can get 20 days out of one AP. That alone makes it worth it. WE do occasionally use the AP dining discounts, but some of the DVC discounts are better, depending on the location.

I don't encourage folks to make the AP decision based solely on discounts, as the change, and with DVC you would probably rarely be using the AP room discounts.

 

[#1 TITANS FAN]

Don't know if you're a parks only person; but to get the same level of access as you would with a UPH (parks, water parks, PI & Disney Quest) you'd need a Premium Annual Pass which currently goes for $536 (tax inc.) for an adult.

 

[jennypenny]

We do the AP's every year, and then plan next year's trip right before the AP's expire. It's a great way to get the most from your passes.

for example, this year we went at the end of August, and next year we'll go for the first two weeks of August. The best part is that we can afford to stay longer the year we don't have to buy the passes (always our biggest expense).

 

[tjkraz]

Since you called this an "annual" trip, it sounds like you go back to WDW every year. My recommendation would be to stagger your trips such that you can get two visits under a single AP.

Assuming 2 adults and 2 children, your costs would look something like this:

2005
Annual Pass: $1550
Premium Annual Pass (inc. water parks, DQ, PI): $2034
Ultimate Park Hopper (10 days, same park access as PAP): $1594 - includes DVC discount.

2006
Annual Pass: $0.00
Premium Annual Pass: $0.00
UPH: $1594

Which looks cheaper to you?